Chelsea Dean at Shoebox Projects

Chelsea Dean will use her time during her Artist in Residence to create work based on her experiences in the Mojave Desert.

For the past four years, I have been combing the Mojave Desert, wandering in and out of abandoned Jackrabbit Homesteads taking pictures and collecting artifacts. These relics have served as reminders that someone used to occupy these once hopeful spaces. It’s here that I find myself drawn to the multitude of textures, colors, and patterns that live within the detritus. I have lovingly gathered planks of splintered wood with the paint peeling off, lugged rusted-out pieces of metal across the desert, and gathered too many broken pieces of mirrors, tiles and windows to count. These bits of history excite me, and have been accumulating in my studio waiting for life to be breathed back into them.